Not long ago, Russia-based web hosting provider Russia Business Network has been facing ridicule and abuse by security companies and has been blacklisted by anti-spam organization Spamhaus (spamhaus.org) for allegedly facilitating online criminal activity. However the hosting firm denied it has had any criminal ties and said it may sue the anti-spam organization for the libelous allegation.
Described by Spamhus as "the world's worst spammer, child-pornography, malware, phishing and cybercrime hosting network," RBN has been said to cater to Internet scammers and online criminals, renting them servers for $600 per month and promising "bullet-proof hosting."
A report by iDefense, VeriSign's cybersecurity reporting arm, called the business "entirely illegal," and the SANS Internet Storm Center said RBN maintains a façade of legitimacy by "paying lip service" to abuse complaints, but nothing more.
Tim Jaret, a representative of RBN's abuse department, said the company can't understand on which basis the organizations have developed these opinions on the company and that it was simply misunderstood. Despite the consensus of the security community, RBN denied that it is a Web shop for criminals and says it does not have any more criminal activity than any other provider.
According to reports, after security companies began scrutinizing RBN, the company took down its website and changed its registration information. IDefense said RBN doesn't need a website, because it gets its business through word of mouth in the underworld and from dodgy crime-oriented Web forums. However, RBN said it gets its customers through resellers and that a new website is currently under development.
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